Amr Bin Abasa was one of the devout idolators… He was known for his devotion to worshipping the idols. Eventually one day he realized the idols were giving him neither benefit nor harm. Everything was taking place in a specific system and order and he couldn’t change any of it… After this realization, he resented the idols and started searching for the Creator of this universal order, or for someone who could guide him to that Creator…

One day he met a learned man from Tayma… He shared his dilemma and the absurdity he felt regarding worshipping the idols:

“I hate worshipping these meaningless futile things… But I just can’t find the One who is worthy of worship, perhaps you may be able to teach me something?”

Amr (r.a.) had really found the right guy… This man taught him the knowledge he had acquired from the books.

 “A man will emerge in Mecca. He will make his people turn away from the idols and invite them to Allah, the One. Wherever you find him, accept his invitation and follow his message. For He will teach the religion of Allah…”

From that day on Amr would sit by the main road and observe the travelers… When someone came from a trip from Mecca he would ask them, “Any news from Mecca? Has anything new transpired in Mecca?” and so on… 

One day again as he was questioning the newly arrived travelers, he saw a man and greeted him, “Salam o traveler! Where are you coming from?”

“From Mecca…”

“Oh?! And what’s the news? Anything new going on in Mecca?”

“Oh yes! There’s a man calling the people away from the idols and inviting them to worship some God?!” 

When Amr (ra) heard this, he immediately mounted his camel and set off to Mecca… It was night when he arrived in Mecca, so he went directly to the Haram al-Sharif and spent the night there… At the break of dawn, someone came and started praying in front of the Kaaba in a way he had never seen before…

Amr (ra) was bewildered… Could this be the man he was looking for? He waited for the man to finish then asked him, “Who are you? What are you doing like this? Please tell me…”

Our Master (saw) turned to him with a smile and pleasantly responded, “I am the Rasul of Allah!”

“What does the Rasul of Allah mean?”

“It means the person who conveys the messages and the doctrines of Allah to the people…”

“Has Allah appointed you for this duty?”

“Yes”

“And for what has He appointed you?”

“To invite the people to worship only Allah, without associating anything to him; to crush the idols and to take care of relatives…”

Amr was pleased with the things he heard…

“You have been appointed for a good cause… I believe in you and your message …”

And hence Amr (ra) became a Muslim and a follower of our Master (saw).

Then he asked, “Who else believes you?”

“One woman, one free man, and one slave…”

“Shall I stay here with you or go back to my clan?”

“It will strengthen us if you stay here, for everyone is violently opposing this reality, however, you should go back to your family for now and wait until I move to a place more appropriate and openly announce Islam to everyone. When you hear about this come next to me…”

Upon this Amr (ra) bid farewell to our Master and left… 

Again, he spent his time sitting by the roads, waiting for news, this time about the announcement of Islam…

One day, years later, he saw a caravan approaching from the distance and walked up to it, as he frequently did, and asked:

“Any news from Mecca?” 

“That man who claims to be the Rasul of Allah has been driven out of Mecca by his people… He and his followers migrated to Medina to spread the religion of Islam…” 

This was the exact news Amr (ra) had been waiting for! He ran home, packed his bags, mounted his camel, and left for Medina. When he got there, he ardently sought out the Rasul of Allah (saw) and asked, “Do you remember me O Rasul of Allah?”

Surely our Master remembered Amr (ra)… With great relief and happiness, Amr (ra) made Medina his new home…