بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
'Omar Al-Khattab (radhiAllahu anhu)
(Life: (approx) 586AD – 644AD)
(Caliphate: 634AD – 644AD)
'Omar used to say: “What will you say to your Lord later?” – summing up his religion and his method of life.
Narrated Aslam: Ibn 'Omar asked me about some matters concerning 'Omar. He said, “Since Allah’s Apostle died, I have never seen anybody more serious, hardworking and generous than 'Omar bin Al−Khattab (till the end of his life).” [Bukhari – Book 57 Hadith 36]
Abu Bakr was the quickest of the Companions to rush to any good deed. 'Omar ibn Al-Khattab said: "The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam ordered us to give sadaqa (charity). It happened to coincide with some wealth I had just acquired and I said to myself: If I will every surpass Abu Bakr, this is the day I will surpass him. And so I came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam with half of my wealth and he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said to me: "What have you left for your family?" I said: The same amount. Then Abu Bakr came with all of his wealth. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said to him: "What have you left for your family?" He said: I have left them Allah and His Messenger." I said: I will never surpass you in anything." [Dawood]
'Omar's servant Aslam relates that he came out with 'Omar one night, and went far out into the open area outside Madinah. We were out on a fact finding mission to distant hamlets on the outskirt of Madinah. From a distance we observed fire aglow far off. 'Omar said, "I believe the darkness of the night and the cold have compelled some horsemen to sojourn here. Let us go and see." We proceeded at a brisk pace and reached that spot. We saw a woman sitting there with some children around her, a pot boiling on fire, and the children crying. 'Omar greeted her and asked the woman about her condition and also what was going on there. The woman told him that the darkness and cold had forced her to stay there for the night. 'Omar asked her, "Why are these children crying?" And the woman said in reply, "They are hungry". Then 'Omar asked her, "What is there in that pot on fire?" The woman said, "Only water to console the children so that they may remain quiet and go to sleep. And God alone shall judge between us and 'Omar". What the woman wanted to convey was that 'Omar was not fair and just to them. 'Omar said to her, "My good woman, What does 'Omar know about your state of affairs?" To which she retaliated, "Why then should he hold the high office of the Caliph when he is unaware of our condition?" Aslam relates that 'Omar said to him, "Let us go now". And we started from there with all haste, Aslam goes on to say, "and reached the godown of provisions (of the Bait-al-mal) and 'Omar took a bag of flour and container of fat and asked me to load the bag on his back. I offered my services but he angrily brushed aside my offer saying 'Can you relieve me of my burden on the Day of reckoning also?' So I loaded the bag on his back, and then we hastened towards our destination at a fast enough pace and soon he placed the bag and taking out some flour from the bag gave it to the woman and asked her to knead it while he himself offered to fan the fire to a flame. So he started blowing the fire below the pot. His beard was thick and I saw smoke percolating through his beard. He went on blowing at it until the food was ready, and he asked the woman to bring some vessel. And when she brought a platter, he poured out the contents of the pot into it and asked the woman to feed the children while he himself fanned to cool it. We sat there until all of them had eaten to their fill. What was left of the flour and fat was handed over to her and then 'Omar got up and I followed suit. The woman said, 'God bless you. You are more deserving of that high office than the Amir of the believers.' 'Omar said to her, 'Say only a good word. When tomorrow you come to see Amir of the believers, you will find me there, God-willing.' After that 'Omar went to some distance and retraced his steps and hid himself close to their place of stay. I said to him that that was not proper on his part to observe them from the place of his concealment. But he kept quiet. We saw that the children were playing merrily and then they went to sleep. 'Omar thanked God and got up and turning to me said, 'Aslam, hunger was growing at their stomachs and they were miserable and could not go to sleep. I would not have been at ease until I had seen them happy and comfortable. So I looked at them from my position of vantage. You have also seen that they have gone to sleep perfectly at ease."
It was the usual practice of 'Omar that he would patrol the streets and suburbs of Madina to watch the interests of the people, and attend to their needs. One day ''Omar noticed a tent pitched in an open space outside Madina. A person was sitting outside the tent, and some one inside the tent was groaning. Umar went to the man, greeted him, and wanted to know who he was. The man said that he was a man of the desert, and had come to Madina to wait on the Commander of the Faithful and seek his assistance. 'Omar next asked who was groaning inside the tent. The man said that inside the tent his wife was groaning with labor pains. He said that he was a stranger in Madina and did not know what to do. 'Omar enquired whether he had any woman to look after the confinement of his wife. He said that there was none. 'Omar said, "Do not worry. I will make the necessary arrangements." 'Omar came home, and asked his wife Umm Kulsum to accompany him on a mission of service. Umm Kulthum got ready and took with her such things as might be needed for the purposes of confinement. 'Omar took with him some provisions for the purposes of cooking a meal. 'Omar returned to the camp with his wife. Umm Kulsum went inside the tent to attend to the woman in pain, while 'Omar sat outside the tent with the Bedouin and began cooking some meals for him. After an hour or so when the meals had been cooked, Umm Kulthum from inside the tent addressed 'Omar: Amirul Mu'minin, Congratulate your guest on the birth of a son." Hearing this the Bedouin felt much embarrassed. Turning to 'Omar he said, "Amirul Mominin, why did you not reveal your identity? You have overwhelmed me with your benevolence." 'Omar put all his fears to rest saying: "That's all right. There is nothing to worry about. Thank God I have been of some service to you at the time of your need. You may come to me tomorrow and I will see what can be done further to help you". It was late at night when 'Omar and Umm Kulthum left. The Bedouin thanked God and said: "God be praised. I came to seek the Commander of the Faithful, and God sent the Commander of the Faithful to seek me."
The Great Famine (638 AD) was one of the most difficult times during Omar’s rule. The famine spread far and wide throughout Arabia. He organised for rations to come in from Syria, Palestine and Iraq. Once the rations arrived in Medina, he sent his people to re-route the food caravans to go deeper into Arabia to bring food to the people. For people who were displaced and had come to Medina for help, Omar hosted a dinner every night for everyone. Some accounts said that there were over 100,000 people at the dinners.
The Great Plague (639 AD) was another difficult time. Just as the famine was ending a great plague was spreading in Syria and Palestine. When the plague was over, 'Omar went to Syria to reorganize the administration as so many of the governors had died from plague.
The following are other examples of 'Omar’s outstanding leadership that have been recorded:
• Once a woman brought a claim against Omar. When ‘Omar appeared on trial before the judge, the judge stood up as a sign of respect. ‘Omar reprimanded him saying “This is the first act of injustice you did to this woman”.
• ‘Omar insisted that his governors live simple and austere lives, keep no guard at their door and be accessible to the people at all times. He himself set the example for them.
• Many times foreigners found him resting under a tree or praying in the mosque among the people. It was difficult for them to distinguish which man was the Caliph. He used to go about at night in the streets of Medina to see if people needed help or assistance.
• Once, he was delayed in attending Friday prayers once because he had washed his shirt and had to wait for it to dry because he had no other shirt. Can you imagine any other leader of a nation who was so frugal on himself and so afraid to misuse public funds, that he only has one garment in his possession?
• When receiving a gift of sweets from his governor in Azerbaijan, he inquired if all the people there ate the sweet. The answer was that it was reserved for the elite of the society. ‘Omar then made the following order to the governor “Do not satisfy yourself from any kind of food until all the Muslims eat their fill from it before you”.
• He once stood guard in the night with a companion to watch over some travelers. A baby was crying but the mother was unable to make it stop. ‘Omar asked what was wrong. She said that the baby refuses to wean. He asked why she would want to wean her baby who was still young. She replied without knowing who he was that “‘Omar only prescribes a share of the Treasury for the weaned ones”. ‘Omar was devastated at hearing this statement. At dawn prayer, his voice was almost incomprehensible from his weeping. ‘Omar felt himself having wronged those babies who may have died from being weaned too early. He then ordered that a share of the Treasury be prescribed for every Muslim child from birth.
• ‘Omar kept his family’s activities under tight scrutiny in case they are seen to be abusing their status because of their relationship to ‘Omar. Even when what they did was legal, he was still angered, and if they benefited financially, even if indirectly, he forbade from retaining such financial gains.
• ‘Omar had a precept: “If any of you saw any of your brothers committing a slip, you should (screen him and) help him. You should ask Allah to repent on him and you should not assist Satan against him”. This would prevent backbiting and gossiping – two of the most common sins.
Throughout his rule, 'Omar was constantly merciful, caring, principled, thoughtful and God fearing. He was a man who was worried of displaying the smallest injustice, the smallest suspicion, the smallest oppression all because he was preparing himself to answer the question “What will you say to your Lord later?”.
When 'Omar was made Caliph he stood on the pulpit and said: "O people! I am going to invoke Allah, therefore say ameen. O Allah! I am coarse, so make me soft, and I am stingy, so make me generous, and I am weak, so make me strong."
May Allah increase our love for the great Companions and enable us to follow their noble examples and resurrect us with them. Ameen.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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