“His food consisted of barely bread or dates; his drink was water; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places; and a Persian satrap, who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Medina” ….By Edward Gibbon, British Historian and member of the parliament.
“By God, he that is weakest among you shall be in my eye the strongest, until I have vindicated for him his rights; he that is strongest I will treat as the weakest, until he complies with the law’. This was the saying with which he began his reign will never grow antiquated, ‘ It would be impossible to give a better general definition of the function of the state.” This was indeed an amazing expression of the democratic principle that no one is above the law or below it for that matter. Umar not only preached it but practiced it to the utmost. Encyclopedia Britannica
Umar’s life requires but few lines to sketch. Simplicity and duty were his guiding principles; impartiality and devotion the leading features of his administration. Responsibility so weighed upon him that he was heard to exclaim ‘O that my mother had not borne me; would that I had been this stalk of grass instead!’ In early life, of a fiery and impatient temper, he was known even in the later days of the Prophet, as the stern advocate of vengeance. Ever ready to unsheathe the sword, it was he who at Badr advised that the prisoners to be all put to death. (The Holy Prophet forgave them on all) But age, as well as office, had now mellowed this asperity. His sense of justice was strong. And except it be the treatment of Khalid, whom according to some accounts, he pursued with an ungenerous resentment, no act of tyranny or injustice is recorded against him; and even in this matter, his enmity took its rise in Khalid’s unscrupulous treatment of fallen foe. The choice of his captains and governors was free from favoritism and (Moghira and Ammar excepted) singularly fortunate. The various tribes and bodies in the empire, representing interests the most diverse, reposed in his integrity implicit confidence, and his strong arm maintained the discipline of law and empire. Whip in hand. he would perambulate the streets and markets of Madinah, ready to punish offenders on the spot; and so the proverb ‘Umar’s whip is more terrible than another’s sword’. But with all this, he was tender hearted, and numberless acts of kindness are recorded of him, such as relieving the wants of the widows and the fatherless.” Sir William Muir (1819 – 1905) a Scottish Orientalist.
“In the administration of affairs, his probity and justice were proverbial. In private life he was noted for abstinence and frugality and contempt for the false grandeur of the world. Water was his only beverage. His food a few dates, or a few bits of barley bread and salt but in time of penance, even salt was retrenched as a luxury. His austere piety and self-denial, and the simplicity and almost poverty of his appearance were regarded with reverence in those primitive days of Islam. He had shrewd maxims on which he squared his conduct, of which the following is a specimen. ‘Four things come not back: the spoken word; the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.’ During his reign mosques were erected without number for the instruction and devotion of the faithful, and prisons for the punishment of delinquents.”Washington Irving, American writer.
“Umar ibn al-Khattab was the second, and probably the greatest, of the Moslem caliphs. He was a younger contemporary of Muhammad, and like the Prophet, was born in Mecca. The year of his birth is unknown, but was perhaps about 586. Umar(ra) was originally one of the most bitter opponents of Muhammad and his new religion. Rather suddenly, however, Umar(ra) became converted to Islam, and thereafter was one of its strongest supporters. (The parallel with the conversion of St. Paul to Christianity is striking.) Umar(ra) became one of the closest advisors of the prophet Muhammad, anIn 632, Muhammad died without having named a successor. Umar(ra) promptly supported the candidacy of Abu Bakr, a close associate and father-in-law of the Prophet. This avoided a power struggle and enabled Abu Bakr to be generally recognized as the first caliph (i.e., as the ‘successor’ of Muhammad). Abu Bakr was a successful leader, but he died after serving as caliph for only two years. He had, however, specifically named Umar(ra) (who was also a father-in-law of the Prophet) to succeed him, so once again a power struggle was avoided. Umar(ra) became caliph in 634, and retained power until 644, when he was assassinated in Madinah by a Persian slave. On his deathbed, Umar(ra) named a committee of six persons to choose his successor, thereby again averting an armed struggle for power. The committee chose Othman, the third caliph, who ruled from 644 to 656.d remained so throughout Muhammad’s life. Michael Hart, NASA scientist and historian.
This was Hazrat Umar, Amir ul Mo’mineen of a strongest empire of his time. May Allah be pleased with him.
References
- Sir William Muir. The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall from original sources. The Religious Tract Society, 1891. Page 145.
- http://books.google.com/books?id=BZ0MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA563&dq=By+God,+he+that+is+weakest+among.
- “Umar(ra) I.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Sept. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074188>.
- Prof. Masud Ul Hasan. Umar Farouque(ra). Islamic Publications Limited, Lahore, 2000. Page 524-525.
- Washington Irving. The works of Washington Irving. Mahomet Part II, Volume 23. Chapter on death of Abu Beker, page 112.
- Sir William Muir. The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall from original sources. The Religious Tract Society, 1891. Page 197-198.
- http://books.google.com/books?id=xqfhvfOhW3EC&pg=PA278&dq=Yet+the+abstinence+and+humility&as_brr=0& sig=LOXqDxGsZayLCT02CNimlac1K-s
- http://books.google.com/books?id=FDgNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA173&dq=Yet+the+abstinence+and+humility&as_brr=0
- Gibbon,DeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpire,volV,p.400,1890.
Shahid Rehan 